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MACROMOLECULES Macromolecules are giant molecules with many atoms and very large masses for a molecule. Cells can combine small organic molecules into large macromolecules, forming a higher level in the biological hierarchy. Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids are the four major classes of organic compounds in cells. Nearly all macromolecules include the element carbon as a building block, because it is the only element that readily forms a giant chain or networks by bonding to other carbon atoms and other elements. Chemists can create macromolecules in labs. Most of the synthetic, or made in labs, macromolecules are polymers, which are large molecule built ups from smaller building block molecules, called monomers. On the other hand, living organisms build polymers and others complex macromolecules through natural process. Monomers of all classes of macromolecules form larger molecules by dehydration synthesis, a chemical reaction in which one monomer donates a hydroxyl and the other a hydrogen, thus forming a water molecule. A polymer’s prop